U 221
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U 221 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M 45 566 |
| Shipyard: | Germania shipyard , Kiel |
| Construction contract: | August 15, 1940 |
| Build number: | 651 |
| Keel laying: | June 16, 1941 |
| Launch: | March 14, 1942 |
| Commissioning: | May 9, 1942 |
| Commanders: |
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| Calls: | 5 activities |
| Sinkings: |
12 ships (69,732 GRT) |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk on September 27, 1943 |
U 221 was a Type VII C submarine ofthe German Navy during the Second World War .
history
The building contract for the boat was awarded to the Germania shipyard in Kiel on October 15, 1940 . The keel was laid on July 16, 1941, the launch on March 14, 1942, the commissioning under Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Hartwig Trojer on May 9, 1942.
Usage statistics
First venture
U 221 left Kiel on September 1, 1942 at 7 a.m. and entered St. Nazaire on October 22 . During this patrol , U 221 entered Kristiansand on September 2nd . There, provisions and water were added again. The boat left on September 3rd. It operated in the North Atlantic and east of Newfoundland . On October 3rd and 4th, U 221 was still supplied with 60 m³ of fuel and provisions for 14 days. The boat entered St. Nazaire on October 22nd at 6.30 p.m. During this patrol, a total of five ships with 29,681 GRT were sunk. The patrol lasted 50 days. 7,588.6 nautical miles over and 422.7 nm under water were covered. U 221 was assigned to the submarine groups Pfeil, Blitz, Tiger and Wotan for the time of the operation.
Second venture
U 221 left St. Nazaire on November 23, 1942 at 4.15 p.m. and returned there on December 23, 1942 at 5 p.m. The area of operation was the North Atlantic and west of Ireland . The patrol had to be terminated prematurely because on December 8th there was a collision with U 254 during a convoy operation on convoy HX 217 . Thereupon the said submarine sank and U 221 broke off the patrol because of damage to the forward torpedo tubes . Before that, U 221 rescued four crew members from U 254 . On December 19, the boat was still supplying U 758 with fuel. The patrol lasted a total of 30 days and covered 3300 nm over and 430 nm under water. No ship was sunk. The boat was assigned to the daredevil submarine group.
Third company
The boat left St. Nazaire on February 27, 1943 at 4 p.m. and returned there on March 28 at 12 p.m. During this 28 day long operation, five ships were sunk, two of them from convoy HX 229 . A total of 30,476 GRT tonnage was sunk and a ship with 7,197 GRT was damaged. The boat covered a distance of 3,749 nm above and 459 nm under water. During this operation, on March 23, U 406 was supplied with 15 m³ of fuel. During this operation, in the North Atlantic, U 221 was assigned to the submarine groups Neuland and Dränger.
Fourth venture
U 221 left St. Nazaire on May 3 at 11.00 a.m. and returned there on July 21. The area of operation was the North Atlantic and west of Lisbon . During this operation U 221 was assigned to the submarine groups Drossel, Oder, Mosel, Trutz and Trutz 3. On May 12, a ship with 9,432 GRT was sunk. This was the only success of the 51-day patrol. A total of 8,089 nm above and 1,008 nm under water were covered. In the meantime, U 221 was still supplied with provisions, fuel and spare parts by U 119 and U 488 .
Fifth venture and whereabouts
U 221 left at 5.45 p.m. on September 20, 1943 and was at sea for seven days. The area of operations was in the North Atlantic and southwest of Ireland. On September 27, U 221 was sunk by depth charges from a Halifax bomber . All 50 crew members were killed. The Halifax bomber was shot by the on- board flak and had to make an emergency landing . Two of the crew members perished while the rest of the crew was able to save themselves in a rubber dinghy . After eleven days, she was saved.
Footnotes
- ↑ Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Maritime War 1939–1945, December 1942 , accessed on October 17, 2014.
- ↑ U-boot archive U 221 U-boot archive website. Retrieved October 15, 2014.